Isaac, Son of Abraham
Born to aged parents (Sarah was 90, Abraham was 100), Isaac was Abraham’s sole heir. This meant more than inheriting his wealth, it meant becoming the leading advocate of monotheism.…
Isaac, Son of Abraham
Born to aged parents (Sarah was 90, Abraham was 100), Isaac was Abraham’s sole heir. This meant more than inheriting his wealth, it meant becoming the leading advocate of monotheism.…
Abraham ben Abraham
Legend has it that Valentine Pototski, the son of a Polish nobleman, met an old Jew at a tavern and promised to convert to Judaism if the Jew convincingly argued the superiority of…
Rav Kook
Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook (1865-1935) was appointed as the first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Palestine in 1921. A few years later, he founded the World Central Yeshiva, now known as Merkaz…
Rav Kook
Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook (1865-1935) was appointed as the first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Palestine in 1921. A few years later, he founded the World Central Yeshiva, now known as Merkaz…
Of Shamrocks, Snails and Survivors: the life of Rabbi Isaac Herzog
Rabbi Isaac Herzog, the State of Israel’s first Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi, passed away, at age 70, on this date - the 19th of Tammuz – sixty years ago, in 1959, corresponding to July 25th.…
Sources Commentators
Abarbanel (1437-1508, Spanish statesman, philosopher and commentator) Israel Abrahams (1858-1925) Achad Ha’Am (Asher Zvi Hirsh Ginsberg, 1856-1927) AJOP (Association for Jewish Outreach…
The Holy Ari: Rabbi Isaac ben Solomon Luria
When Rabbi Isaac ben Solomon Luria arrived in Safed, in 1569, the town had already become a center of Jewish learning, with a particular emphasis on the kabbalah (Jewish mysticism). By…
Chayei Sarah 5781-2020
“The Personality of Isaac: The Passive Patriarch” (updated and revised from Chayei Sarah 5761–2000) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Chayei Sarah, we learn…
Vayeira 5776-2015
“The Trials of Abraham” by Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Vayeira, includes at least three of the ten trials that Abraham faced during his life. Pirkei Avot, Ethics of…